Book Summary: 

Firefighter Stephanie Díaz won’t let anyone stop her from becoming the youngest female fire chief in Denver. Not the jerks who’d like to see an ambitious Latine woman admit defeat. Not the ultra-bro firefighters she has to work with. And definitely not her ridiculously hot and often infuriating, fellow firefighter Eli Ward. Now Stephanie has the chance to prove to everyone that she’s got what it takes…but there’s one helluva catch.

The Battle of the First Responders is a live, balls-out competition in the secluded Rockies and Stephanie has been selected—along with Ward as her partner. On the line are their reputations, a whole lot of cash…and the promotion they’ve been fighting for. Teaming up is the perfect chance to finally settle their never ending one-upmanship, but it also exposes the smoldering attraction they’ve held at bay.

Now their days are fueled by a high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled competition. Their nights are filled with sizzling deep kisses that steal her breath away. But this sexy little fling is about to set off a five-alarm blaze she can’t control…

My Review:

My first firefighter romance coupled with the first time I have read anything by Mariah Ankenman, I can honestly say she has a new fan! Even though this is a standalone, it throws back to the previous two books and hints that whatever is between Diaz and Ward has been brewing for awhile. For that reason, I can’t wait to go back and start from the beginning!

Determined to always be the best, the brightest, and the fastest, Stephanie Diaz is a force amongst men! As one of the only two female firefighters at Station 42, she holds her own and is fixated on making a name for herself. Despite an almost career-destroying setback at her prior station, Diaz has the respect of the fellow members of her team, including Ward who can take her insults, teasing, and laughs as well gives them. Competitive to a fault, Diaz isn’t surprised when she finds out the Chief has selected her and Ward to participate in a reality competition for first responders. She is; however, shocked to find out there is a Lieutenant position open with a clear track to becoming a Chief. Knowing Ward wants to become Chief just as bad as she does, she is dead-set to win the competition and prove she is the best person for the job. So what if her mind has been misfiring lately when Ward is around. As long as she can keep her distance and her head in the game she’s safe – until she finds out she will be sharing a cabin with Ward for two solid weeks. Still, she is sure she can stay focused as long as Ward never discovers her growing attraction towards him. Trouble is, Ward has had a crush on Diaz for four years. The idea of being in close quarters and not letting his desire for her slip through is going to be impossible. He is convinced he can handle the situation until he notices the heat in her eyes when she looks at him. The question is, who will break first?

What I like about it: I always love good banter in a book and this one is no exception. The ribbing between Ward and Diaz is hilarious. The moments Ward turns up the charm are sizzling hot and Diaz constantly putting out those little fires (pun intended) is what made the interactions absolutely delightful. They just played off each other so well but to learn how much deeper the feelings go, especially for Ward, just makes those scenes that much stronger. As I haven’t watched a lot of reality shows, I can only suspect that their suspicion of Gina is true to form. The surprises, the dirty plays, feeding the need to win despite all else, it creates such an electric current under the story that you don’t know whether you want to focus on the situation heating up between Diaz and Ward or the suspense of the competition. As for the way the story ended, it was absolutely wonderful and perfect for who Diaz was. I couldn’t imagine it being written any other way.

Peeking at the sweltering moments of the story – I would love to say something cheesy like “With a firefighter story, of course they brought the heat” but even I have to roll my eyes at that. I will just say Mariah knew what she was doing when she built up (as in escalated) each moment with Diaz and Ward. From their almost moments, to their start but interrupted kiss, to their eventual entanglement – there wasn’t a second that the spice was lost. It was sweet, it was passionate, it was hot!

Back to Diaz, I am so glad Mariah doubled down on how difficult it is, especially for women – let along a woman of color, to make it in a male dominated field. The double standards Diaz was subjected to, how much harder and better she had to be at everything, and how alone she felt with that plight because her male counterparts would never understand that struggle. The fact that someone she trusted used that against her to get ahead was sickening but not surprising where women are still begrudgingly accepted, let along treated as equals.

For that reason alone, I absolutely loved how Diaz was written. Her strengths were not her weaknesses. She owned who she was and thrived on the criticism of others. She didn’t allow her determination and grit to be overshadowed. She knew her worth, her capabilities, and anyone who couldn’t see it was of no use to her. I loved this because she already loved and embraced who she was but to have Ward see those qualities in her and praise her, encourage her, and most of all, chastised her when she was anything but her authentic self – absolute perfection.

For Ward, there were so many emotions behind him that you just wanted to coddle his character. From the pain he still holds for his late father, the need to carry on the legacy, the desire to be head of the house and to take care of his mother, his unrequited crush for Diaz and how he has had eyes for no one but her for four years – no matter how hard he has tried. When he opens up to her about not knowing what he wants; but doing whatever he could to keep that connection with his father, and Diaz understood – having lost both of her parents – I swore if these two didn’t end up together I was done with this book!

For this reason alone, I applaud Mariah. I love it when an author writes a heartbreak so earth shattering that it yanks at your empathy strings, pulling up memories of your own past (or the emotional connection of friends who you have nurtured through a heartbreak) and makes you want to reach through the pages and console the character.

Without hesitation, I have already added the first two stories to my TBR stack! I can’t wait to go back to the beginning and enjoy the world that Mariah has created. If she had this much heart in her third book, I can only imagine what is waiting for me in her first two!